Jenny Mulligan used the award to attend the Lathe Riders coldworking collective’s symposium ‘Grit & Wheels, 2025′ where 15 Lathe Riders from 10 different countries had a week working together, with three days open to the public for demonstrations and two exhibitions. It was a great opportunity for Jenny to showcase her work, offering her a rare chance for her to work with other coldworkers, which proved to be a great source of inspiration for her work. The bursary assisted with travel expenses and material costs for the workshop.

Nour El Huda Awad discovered the magic of Pate De Verre during lockdown attending an online seminar with Joshua Kerley, followed by a masterclass with Alison Lowry. This led her to experiment with carving into the moulds inspired by the colours and patterns in nature, making Blue Bells and Angel Fish bowls. Maureen used the bursary to access more workshops in order to learn new Pate de Verre techniques to enhance the quality of her work and push boundaries.

Suzanne O’Sullivan was working on a “wings across waters” project with Spanish Artist Nuria Torrente when we put out the bursary open call last year.  As part of this collaboration Nuria had introduced Suzanne to the wonderful possibilities of working with decals. As part of this project she had been observing bird flight patterns and wanted to incorporate decals into her glasswork to help map out and give visual representation to her observations . Suzanne used the bursary to purchase a laser printer and some decal paper.

Sophie Longwill used the bursary to fund a one-to-one mentoring session with Eamonn Maxwell, a curator and art advisor with deep knowledge of the contemporary art field in Ireland and beyond. Since completing her MA in Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art, Sophie had been navigating the next steps in her practice.  Sophie had attended several of Eamonn’s talks and found his insights extremely helpful and a dedicated session proved invaluable in developing a clear strategy for moving her work forward from refining her goals to identifying opportunities as well as helping to shape a strong proposal with clarity and confidence.

Fiona Byrne used the bursary to purchase a beautiful pair of diamond shears, a vital tool for expanding her glassblowing toolkit. Buying her own set of shears meant she could choose a tool that is the right size and weight for her hands and suited to the style of work she was developing. Investing in high-quality, personal tools makes a lasting difference in glassblowing and the bursary supported both Fiona’s immediate training and long-term growth as a maker working towards a sustainable, professional practice in glass.

Evan McKenna was a Master’s student in NCAD specialising in stained glass when the GSOI bursary open call was launched last year and he applied for support to purchase a glass grinder.  Owning his own grinder allows him to work independently in his own studio, both during his studies and in his professional development since graduating. It supports a more consistent studio routine and is a vital long-term investment in his glass career, enabling greater productivity in his work.

Maureen Clarke had started a new body of work exploring themes of landscape, memory, and belonging using reclaimed horticultural glass. The work was investigating how materials, especially glass once used in growing environments, can act as silent witnesses to cycles of growth, decay, and human connection to land and place. The bursary allowed her to collect, test, and manipulate this glass, and to access the tools and facilities necessary to push her practice in a new conceptual and material direction.